


Pinky Promise?

by MiddleKeyFangirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Claire Novak in the Men of Letters Bunker, Dead Dean Winchester, F/F, Fluff, Hunter Claire Novak, Minor Injuries, Post-Supernatural (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-11 07:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28467810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiddleKeyFangirl/pseuds/MiddleKeyFangirl
Summary: Claire and Kaia head to the bunker to assist Sam with a hunt.
Relationships: Claire Novak & Dean Winchester, Claire Novak & Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak
Kudos: 21





	Pinky Promise?

They wake up in Dean's old room. Claire's awake first; she rises with the sun, even in the windowless room. Kaia is still asleep. Claire tries to think of how peaceful she looks, with her messy hair and blank face. She can count the little scars on her cheeks and forehead. But no matter how much she looks at her, no matter how much she hears her breathing, she can't help but think that she's dead. She sees her lying in the bed, and simultaneously on the grassy floor of the Bad Place.

She reaches out and gently takes Kaia's wrist. She kisses it, feeling the pulse on her lips. She lets out a sigh, holding her hand as her body relaxes.

She climbs out of bed, careful not to wake her girlfriend.

There's a picture on the nightstand. It's Mary Winchester and her son. Claire hasn't met her. She never will. She picks up the frame gently, looking at the image. Her heart aches. She wishes she had seen Dean again before he died. She would rather have Mark of Cain Dean than no Dean at all. She inhales deeply as she puts the photo down. 

Sam is in the kitchen when she gets there. He's sitting there with a cup of coffee between his hands, staring blankly at the table's surface. Claire hangs back in the door frame for a moment, looking at him.

"Good morning," she says, walking to get coffee for herself. She avoids making eye contact with him. She won't look at him. 

"Hey," he says, perking up slightly. "Where's Kaia?"

Claire finally turns around, sipping the scalding drink. "Asleep."

"I thought you were leaving first thing in the morning?"

"I wanted to let her sleep," she shrugs. Truth be told, she didn't really want to leave yet. She felt like she needed to be there for Sam. Some kind of guilt, she presumes, though she's not sure what it's from.

"The old Claire was itching to go on a hunt," Sam smiles. It's a feeble effort. "What happened?"

"I um-" she sips her drink again. "She just needs sleep. So I wait for her."

"Is that it?"

"Yes," she lies, eyes flitting to the floor. She's a terrible liar. "Mostly."

Sam leans back in his chair. She doesn't know why, but for some reason it always seems to make her talk.

"I guess I'm just not itching as much. I have reasons not to hunt." She sips her coffee, hiding her reddening cheeks. She felt so silly. Like a schoolgirl with a crush.

Sam chuckles. "Yeah, no, I get it."

It's quiet for a minute.

"If you could go back, would you stop hunting?" She asks.

"No. Would you?"

"I don't think so. I can't imagine anything not leading up to where I am right now. I never would've met Kaia, or Alex. I probably wouldn't know Jody either." She puts her mug down, leaning against the counter. "But I wouldn't have caused her so much trouble, y'know? If I was just a normal kid. If I finished school and sold my soul to some draining, bland job."

Sam looks like he's about to answer, but Claire clears her throat.

"So what information do we have?"

"Claire-"

"I changed the subject for a reason, Sam." She carries her coffee over to sit across from him. Her eyes narrowed.

Sam stares at her for a moment and sighs, knowing he's not going to get much out of her. 

"A women was found about forty miles north from here," his eyes go from her, back to his mug. "She was drained. Vamps."

Claire bites her lip. She doesn't know what to say.

"It's okay," she nods, standing quickly. Her blonde hair springs up with her. "Kaia and I can take care of it."

"You don't have to take Kaia," Sam says. "I can come with you."

Claire doesn't say anything. He knows she doesn't want to take Kaia. But he also knows she's only taking her because she doesn't want to upset him.

"I can handle it," he says.

Claire looks at him, and then back at her coffee. She watches the steam rise. "I know." She sighs and leans forward onto the table. "I just... want to do what's best."

"There are other options. I've got hunters about two hours out from here."

"I can handle it." She says. He blinks at her. "I'll take Kaia. I'll keep her safe."

"I know you will," he says. She wonders how much of that he truly means.

When she gets back to Dean's room, Kaia's awake, half dressed. She pulls on one of Claire's flannel shirts.

"You look good in that," Claire spurts from the door frame. Kaia jumps, not realizing she was there.

"Yeah," she smirks, buttoning it up. "Whoever picked it out has terrible taste."

Claire laughs. "If it's so terrible, why do you keep stealing it?" Kaia looks at her, done buttoning the shirt.

"I like it," she says. "I really do. It smells like you."

Claire laughs. It's a short, kind of empty laugh. She's not a romance girl. She looks at Kaia for a moment. Kaia can see the concern in her face. She's not a romance girl either.

"It is hideous though-"

"Shut up."

"I'll be back soon," Claire says, climbing out of the car. "It should be a quick job." She's not lying. There are only three vamps. And they're ridiculously dumb, as far as Claire could tell.

"And if you're not?" Kaia asks. Claire looks at her. She looks worried, but she's trying to hide it with a smile.

"I will be," she says, her heart pounding at the prospect of jinxing herself.

"Don't die," Kaia leans over the seat to reach for Claire. "Pinky promise not to die?"

Claire laughs, hooking her pinky with Kaia's. "I promise." She steps back and presses two fingers to her lips, blowing a kiss as she paces back towards the nest. "I know you've got my back."

They could have gone together. But Kaia's not really a fighter. She runs. She thinks with Claire it would be different. If it came down to it, she would fight and kick and scream to keep her safe. Claire wanted Kaia safe, afraid to lose her again, this time permanently. So they agreed Kaia could do lookout while Claire took care of the nest. Kaia said she'd join her once things had started. Claire liked her attempt at making stealth plans.

Kaia smiles down at her lap, where she picks at her nails. 

A gunshot sounds. Kaia looks out of the car. There's no one there. Why was there a gunshot? Claire had a machete. She reasons that Claire knows what she's doing, and that she's got special bullets, or something.

She sighs in relief when a head is tossed out the window. And then she laughs. It's a weird thing to feel good about.

Kaia looks around for incoming vamps as she climbs out of the car. There are none. There's a shout from inside the old warehouse, then a sickening sound followed by silence. It's not Claire's voice. Claire's fine.

The next thing she hears is Claire. She knows it's Claire because of the way she accents her expletives.

"Stupid moth-" 

"Shut up," the vamp says. Kaia's sneaking around the corner. She hears a thud, and Claire grunts. Kaia speeds up and turns the corner, running ahead with the machete. The vamp sees her and drops Claire, throwing Kaia out of the way. It's effortless for the vampire. As scrawny as Kaia was, the vamp was worse. She'd been starving to death. Clearly not the head of the nest, and clearly not getting her take.

Claire stands up and swings her machete at the sickly woman, slicing a gash down her arm. The woman elbows her in the stomach and she rolls back, nearly slicing her own fingers in the process.

Kaia runs back in, jumping towards the vamp. But the woman slams her back into the wall.

The woman turns her attention back to the blonde. She grabs her by the throat and holds her at eye level. Kaia's vision is blurry, but she can see the smug look on her girlfriend's face.

"What are you smiling about?" The woman asks, shaking Claire. Claire spits a mouthful of blood into her face.

"Eat me," she says, kicking the vamp promptly in the stomach, sending her back in Kaia's direction, who holds her machete in just the right place to decapitate the woman. The two breathe, looking at their team effort.

"We're awesome," Claire pants, sitting on the dirty floor. Kaia smiles and goes to help her up.

"Are you okay?" Claire asks, looking her over. Kaia nods. She's going to be covered in bruises, and she thinks she might have got a couple of cuts that will turn into scars, but it's nothing she can't handle. The idea of having scars from hunting bothered her less than the ones from The Bad Place. It made her feel closer to Claire. Now they'd have scars to share together.

Kaia inspects Claire, who's definitely in worse shape. She's not hurt badly, but her mouth is bleeding and she looks winded. She's definitely got a concussion. 

"I'll drive home," Kaia says, holding out her hand to Claire.

They walk back to the car, where Claire collapses dramatically into the passenger seat and sighs. Kaia gets into the driver's seat and looks at the blood in Claire's hair. She reaches out and brushes it out with her thumb, but Claire doesn't notice. Claire looks deflated, Kaia thinks, as she reaches over to buckle the semi-conscious girl's seatbelt.

"Thanks," Claire says quietly. She turns her head and sets her tired eyes on Kaia. "Thank you, Kaia."

Kaia nods, turning forward to hide her blush. "Of course."

"I'd kiss you but I bit my tongue at some point and it still hasn't stopped bleeding," she says, giggling slightly. She realizes it really isn't funny, and that this really could have gone a lot worse. She wonders if Dean thought that before his last hunt. She slumps against the door, closing her eyes.

"How'd it go?" Sam asks unenthusiastically when they return. Claire gives him a blank expression and two thumbs up. Kaia pushes the small of her back.

"Go shower," she says.

"Yep."

Sam looks at Kaia, who watches her girlfriend walk down the hall. She really is a mess. Covered in dirt, mud, blood and whatever other substances were on the floor of the warehouse. She always is a little messy, Kaia thinks. Her hair is never fully tamed, she has a busted lip fifty percent of the time. Her hands are soft, except where they're calloused from handling weapons. Her knuckles are bruised sometimes, making her touch even lighter when she glides her fingers across Kaia's skin.

"How'd it go?" Sam asks again. Kaia looks at him.

"Fine." 

Sam smiles awkwardly and turns back to his book. 

Kaia's uncomfortable. She likes Sam, wants to say something to him. But he doesn't seem to want to talk. 

"I'm worried about her," she mutters eventually. Sam looks at her.

"She's worried about you," Sam says. "She's scared of loosing you."

"I know," Kaia nods. "But I don't want to pull her away from hunting. She loves it. But she seems more hesitant when I'm around."

"She doesn't love it as much as she loves you," Sam points out, uncomfortably involved.

Kaia laughs. But she looks at Sam and he's got this serious look on his face. "What?"

"You know, when you were gone... she lost it. She didn't come out of her room for days."

Kaia blinks. Claire never told her that.

"I- I gotta go," she stutters, walking quickly back to Dean's room.

Kaia's pressed into Claire's chest, breathing her in. Claire's awake, but incredibly still and incredibly quiet. As if if she were to move, Kaia would dissolve like a cloud of smoke.

Kaia's awake too, equally as quiet.

They have a lot to say. But the words sit unsaid in the small spaces between them. 

Instead, Claire presses a kiss to the top of Kaia's head. Kaia grabs at her sweatshirt, keeping her close.

It's silent, until Claire starts to cry. She's shaking, and her breathing's not right.

And that makes Kaia cry too.


End file.
